In the Chernihiv region, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church defected to the schismatic group and transferred two parishes to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine

The Chernihiv Regional Military Administration has officially recorded the transfer of the Holy Dormition Parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the villages of Sednev and Novoye, Chernihiv District, to the OCU. The corresponding order No. 1478, signed by the head of the administration, Vyacheslav Chaus, on October 19, 2026, formalizes the amendment to the religious organization’s charter, as reported by the portal.

According to the updated charter, the parish, which unites believers from the settlement of Sednev and the village of Novoye, has been officially named the “Religious Community of the Holy Dormition Parish of the Chernihiv Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” The transition process was initiated by the community back in August of this year.

A key feature of this transition was that the parishioners’ decision was supported by the church’s rector, Father Vasily Yadovchak, who decided to join the OCU together with the community. According to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, the expression of the citizens’ will took place in the village of Novoye with the participation of local residents and representatives of the relevant agency. The voting procedure was conducted transparently and was recorded on video.

As a reminder, Archpriest Roman Mykhailiuk, the rector of the religious community of St. Michael’s Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the city of Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, announced his transition to the OCU along with the congregation. This decision was allegedly made “by a majority vote of active parishioners at a general meeting.”